


What We Found Along the Way

by JekkieFan



Category: The Glass Scientists (Webcomic), The Wizard of Oz & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe, Comedy, F/M, How Do I Tag, Land of Oz, M/M, Minor Character Death, Missing dog, Multi, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Wizard of Oz References, but like it's the wicked witch of the east so yall knew that already, frankenstein isn't good at giving directions, just some silly fun times because 2020 is kicking me in the butt, neither did the creature, rachel didn't sign up for any of this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:41:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27830929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JekkieFan/pseuds/JekkieFan
Summary: It was a dull day at the Society of Arcane Sciences. Save for the mysteriously absent church grim. Zosi had been missing all morning, and Rachel has been sent to find the little dog. Finding him was easy enough, but the road back started to look... unfamiliar.Rachel's starting to think she isn't in London anymore.In which I finally re-write and publish an old AU.
Relationships: Dr. Henry Jekyll/Dr. Robert Lanyon, Jasper Kaylock/Rachel Pidgley
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	1. A Missing Church Grim

Grey fog crept over the busy street in front of the Society of Arcane Sciences. Its pearly facade was so unlike what resided inside. However this day had been rather dull. Not that it wasn’t _busy_ per se. Everyone had been hard at work growing plants, mixing chemicals, fixing machines or the like. But nothing had yet to spontaneously combusted, nor had any experiments fled from their cages. So it was lacking in the usual chaos that comes with a dozen or so rouge scientists living together. However the Society seemed to be missing in one canine poltergeist. This was at the forefront of Jekyll and Rachel’s minds. Both of whom were now on a frantic search for the little church grim.

“Zosi?” Rachel peaked under Jekyll’s velvet, office couch.

But the dust didn’t respond.

Rachel groaned as she sat up. “Zosi!” she called out into the room. She snatched her hand away as she felt one of Griffin’s mice rush past.

“I see you haven’t found him either,” it was Jekyll. His face, usually warm and friendly, was now filled with concern. He helped Rachel to her feet.

Rachel dusted her skirt free of dirt. “We’ve been looking all morning.”

Jekyll ran his hand through his hair. “I know,” he groaned. “He couldn’t have gone far.”

Just then, and a little too conveniently, Miss Lavender poked her head into the room. “Still trying to find the church grim?”

“Have you seen him?” Rachel asked.

Lavender shook her head. “No, but I heard word that he was last seen heading towards Trinity Church.”

“The graveyard!” Rachel gasped.

Jekyll smiled gratefully at the junior zoologist, “Thank you, Miss Lavender.”

“Come on! Who knows what trouble he’s gotten into,” Rachel took Jekyll’s hand and began to rush out of the building. “Thank you!”

“Good luck!” Lavender waved to them before they were out into the London fog.

Zosimos was _very_ lost.

One moment he was chasing a stray soot mouse, and next he was at the mercy of an oncoming carriage. Somehow in the middle of this chaotic city he found a quiet cemetery. And now the little Zosi was sniffing at a moss covered headstone. The clattering of the bustling city was nothing more than the distant buzzing of a gnat. It wasn’t home, but it would do for the little dog.

He found a pleasant grave with lush grass to rest on. The leaves of a nearby tree fluttered around him. Their gentle, rustling lullaby soothed the dog. There was no one but the church grim and the silent spirits in this graveyard. Zosi closed his little, red eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

“Zosi!”

The dog’s head perks up. _It’s Rachel!_ Zosi’s boney tail wagged happily as he dashed towards the voice.

There was the familiar face of the head cook at the gate. “Zosi!” she called out into the mist.

The little black dog yapped as he zipped up to her.

“Where have you been?” Rachel said petting the small church grim scruffy fur. He seemed relatively unharmed from what she could tell. Admittedly that was difficult when one was looking at something undead. Rachel picked Zosi up, and took him to the carriage.

The driver flicked the reigns, and commanded the horse to move. The carriage swayed as it moved over the cobblestone. As the horse-drawnvehicle trotted down the street, the London fog grew thicker with every passing second. And frankly, it was getting difficult to see.


	2. The Land of the Fairies

Rachel sat in the carriage as it swayed over the cobblestones. She watched as Zosimos contently napped on her lap. His ear twitched every now and then. And once he even huffed out a little woof.

Rachel smiled, “Wonder what you’re dreaming about.” She gently pet the church grim, and gazed out the carriage window.

The fog was bad. Through the grey haze Rachel saw the shadows of what seemed to be buildings. She paused, and took a closer look. _Are those… trees,_ she pondered. But how? They were in London. Were they passing through a park? The carriage hit a small bump. It made Zosi’s head pop up with a start.

“Some driver,” she mumbled to herself.

Zosi looked dazed for a moment before he join Rachel in watching the passing shapes. The little church grim sniffed at the thick fog.

Rachel pet his scruffy, little head. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say we hit someone,” she joked. And if Rachel had known of what happened next, she would have kept her mouth shut.

_Crash!_

The carriage clattered, and threw the two from their seat. They came to a creaking halt. Everything was eerily quiet.

Rachel felt like her soul had been ripped out of her chest. She sat up, and rubbed her aching head. “Zosi?”

The little church grim crawled onto her lap.

Rachel chuckled despite her fright, “There you are.” She ran a hand through his fir, “You seem fine.”

He licked Rachel’s hand looking perfectly content.

“Let’s see what happened.” Rachel scooped up Zosi up in her arms. Carefully she approached the carriage door. Thoughts of highwaymen waiting for her on the other side passed through her mind. But she had to get Zosi back to the Society, and that wouldn’t happen if she stayed in this wreck.

Rachel opened the door.

What she had been expecting was thick, London fog lit by gas lamps. Not… overly colorful flora. She stepped out of the carriage and found that she was surrounded by an overabundance of greenery. There were huge and foreign plants that rivaled that of Archer and Bird’s collection. They were all of the boldest colours Rachel had ever seen.

“Since when did we leave London?” Rachel asked the church grim in her arms.

Zosi wiggled out of her arms, and bounded towards a clearing.

“Wait!” Rachel ran after the church grim. Losing Zosimos again was last thing she needed.

As she followed, Rachel noticed that all of the plants were slowly growing more blue in hue. She raced under cobalt coloured leafs that hung over patches of azure moss. And ran around navy trees with cerulean grass growing between their roots.

When Rachel finally caught up with Zosi she found herself in a clearing. Zosi was yapping at the little, blue mushrooms that covered the surrounding trees. But upon a second glance, Rachel saw that the mushrooms looked more… house-like. Yes, they were surrounded by tiny houses. Each house was painted in vibrant shades of blue.

Rachel scooped up the church grim back into her arms. “Let’s stay by the carriage,” she muttered just in time for the heavens to roar. She looked up and saw dark clouds gathering above her. The oncoming storm looked unnatural and terrifying.

_Flash!_

Rachel shielded her face from the light. The lightening cracked through the air. And the earth shook, but only for a moment. Then all was still. Rachel peaked from behind her arms, and saw something that just couldn’t be real. “This has to be a joke,” she snickered.

There, in the middle of the clearing, was Frankenstein and her Monster. Or at least people that _looked_ like her and the Creature. Frankenstein was dressed in long robes, and in her hand was a tall staff that sparked with electricity. The woman turned to Rachel, “Are you talking to me?”

Rachel covered her mouth to keep from giggling. Which was a rather hard thing to do in the moment. This had to be some joke that the lodgers were pulling on her. She wasn’t sure how those scientists were able to summon Frankenstein with lightening. But it was obvious that they found a way.

Before Rachel could answer the previous question, this Frankenstein look-alike asked her another one. “Are you the witch?”

Rachel’s laughter was replaced with a confused expression. “A witch? I’m not a witch at all. I’m Rachel, the cook at the Society. Do you remember?”

Frankenstein turned to the Creature with a confused expression, before turning back to Rachel and Zosi. She pointed to the church grim with her staff. “Is that the witch then?”

Rachel cracked a grin. “Zosimos? He’s just an ordinary church grim.”

“I must be mistaken then,” Frankenstein started. “The fairies told me that a witch and a black haired creature killed the Wicked Witch of the East. And you fit that description perfectly. You _did_ arrive in a carriage, correct?”

“Well, yes, but I haven’t killed anyone.” Rachel stood up with the feeling that she was in for more than expected. If this was a prank, then they were playing the long game. _Maybe I could walk to the Society._

From her robes Frankenstein pulled out pair of red slippers. “Well,” she said somewhat condescendingly, “I found _these_ under the carriage.” As she talked the shoes dazzled in the light, like they were made of the finest rubies. “These slippers belonged to the Wicked Witch of the East. Therefore _you_ must be the witch the fairies told me about.”

“So,” Rachel said collecting her thoughts, “this Witch of the East is… dead?”

Suddenly she heard soft giggling from all around. Small voices chattered phrases like “The Wicked Witch is absolutely dead!” and “The Witch is undeniably dead,” around them.

Rachel looked around, but found no one. “Did… did you hear that?” But as soon as she spoke the authors of the voices made themselves known. It was the fairies that Frankenstein talked about. Not the malicious fay of old, but the type that flitter about on butterfly wings. They were curiously peaking their heads out of the little, blue houses. The strange part wasn’t just that she was seeing these little pixies, but that they looked… familiar. Yes, they all resembled the lodgers! There was Miss Flowers riding upon a snail like one would a steed. Magically sparking a little brighter than the others was Mr. Luckett (though this wasn’t unusual for him). And there was the cheery Mr. Doddle fluttering his pink and green moth wings.

_Maybe I hit my head when the carriage crashed,_ Rachel thought.

With a flourish Frankenstein presented the little, colorful fairies. “The fairies are eager to pay their debt to you. They said that they’d be happy to assist you with whatever you need.”

Rachel looked out onto the technicolor sea of fairies. Each familiar fairy wore eager smiles, or fluttered curiously close. She took a hesitant step back from the doppelganger gazes. A part of Rachel wanted to laugh for this surely was a joke. It had to be. But no one was laughing. Rachel sighed, and gave in to the fantastical humor of where she was. “I need to get back to London. Can you take me there?”

From Frankenstein to the fairies, a wave of confusion overtook them. Curious mummers filled the air as Frankenstein asked, “I’ve never heard of that country before.”

“It’s not a--”

“And I don’t think the fairies know how to help you. But!” Frankenstein said. “I know just who can help you.”

_Well this is good news._ “Who are they?”

“Why the wizard of course!” The fairies chattered excitedly now as Frankenstein talked. “Just follow that yellow brick road, and it will take you to the Emerald City.” She waved her staff to a winding yellow path of brick that Rachel was sure didn’t exist there a moment before.

“Could I have better directions?” Rachel asked. But it was drowned out by all the cheering.

“See the London witch on her way,” Frankenstein told the fairies over the noise.

They happily obliged, and began ushering Rachel out of the clearing. Before Rachel knew what was happening she was being pushed and pulled by the little, winged creatures. Each one was prattling on about “Keep on the path!” and “Follow the yellow brick road!” to the confused cook. And poor Zosimos whined confusedly as he was awkwardly carried in tow. The fairies dropped Rachel and Zosi off at the edge of their little town.

The last thing Rachel heard as the fairies dispersed was Frankenstein shouting, “Adventure calls you!”

Rachel brushed the fairy dust off her skirts. “Well,” she huffed, “I guess we’re going to the Emerald City. Wherever _that_ is.”

Zosi was yapping at something, and when Rachel looked she saw exactly what it was. There stood the hulking figure of the Creature standing there. And there in his hands was the sparkling, red slippers. Silently he handed Rachel the ruby shoes. “You’ll need these,” he mumbled. And with that said he left.

The shoes looked a few sizes too big, and they were rather bright for her grey dress. Maybe silver shoes would match her clothes better.

Zosi sniffed at the ruby slippers. They didn’t smell suspicious.

Rachel put the shoes on and found that they fit perfectly. Not only that, but they were the most comfortable shoes she’s ever worn. She smiled, and was quiet happy that she got to keep them. She looked down to the little curious church grim and shrugged. “Ready to walk to the Emerald City?”

Zosimos was wagging his bony tale the moment Rachel said “walk.” He raced around Rachel yapping excitedly.

Rachel laughed. At least her journey would be in good company. Together Rachel and Zosimos made their way down the yellow brick road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you things would be silly.  
> So this chapter took about a month longer to write than I thought. I had some physical and mental stuff going on that slowed writing down. It's all okay now. But I am sorry for this taking a while.  
> Now this chapter didn't change much from the original draft. The only major changes were the lodgers taking the place of the Munchkins, and the fact that the Creature is actually here. But fun fact, I based Mr. Doddle's wings off of the elephant hawk moth's wings. I just thought the colors matched his aesthetic. But now my brain wants to make some type of fairy au, and have all the lodger's wings correspond with irl butterflies and moths' wings.  
> Anyways, if you enjoyed this fic thus far please leave a comment or kudos!

**Author's Note:**

> So... this is a thing I'm finally writing. If the dates in my journal are correct, I started writing the first draft on December 13, 2014. And it hadn't seen the light of day until now. Lots have been changed since, but it's a nice to have an old draft to work off of. And I promise most of the chapters will be longer than this.  
> I originally got this idea when I saw [this post](https://arythusa.tumblr.com/post/57915382608/this-was-a-spontaneous-gag-idea-i-had-in-writing) and noticed that Zosimos looks like a zombie Toto. My imagination ran off with the idea from there.  
> I don't know how many TGS fans will like this kind of fic. But 2020 has not been nice to anyone, and I think we just need something fun. Also I need another writing project to work on in-between writing chapters of my webcomic. Which brings me to...  
> Updates! This fic WILL be completed someday. But the updates will be inconsistent. So there may be like a month or two of waiting time. Apologies in advanced.  
> If you liked this fic so far please leave a comment or kudos! Also you can say hi to me on [Tumblr](https://jekkiefan.tumblr.com/)


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